GreenWatch

B. McPherson Bumblebees are part of the free services we receive from Mother Nature Spring in Europe will see fewer bumblebees. Bumblebees are those large, wild bees that don’t look as if they could get off the ground, but they do. They are docile creatures that only ask that we leave them some forage and don’t poison them. Unfortunately about a quarter of the 68 species residing in Europe are red-listed or critically endangered. Nearly half of the species are in decline. A study done by the International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN) has warned people that the loss of these species will be catastrophic to food producers. The study, which contributes to the European Red List of pollinators and is part of the Status and Trends of European Pollinators (STEP) project, stresses that three of the five   “most important insect pollinators of European crops”   are bumblebee species .  RT Bumblebees are important pollinators of many of our food crops...

B. McPherson Changing weather patterns around the world are causing droughts and crop failures. The American mid-west which produces more corn and soy than any other country is facing the worst drought in 56 years. While the harvest isn’t in in the US, estimates are that it will be about 30% lower than usual. Already those bidding on corn commodities have pushed the price up by about 50%. Wheat crops in Canada are about normal with adequate rainfall in most areas except the Peace River area in the north which is dry. Drought in the Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan has curtailed grain in those countries. Argentina and Brazil are both experiencing drought conditions. India had disappointing rain yield from their monsoon season. The global food harvest may be as poor as 2008 when hunger drove many to agitate for subsidized food supplies. India curtailed the export of their lower grades of rice so that supplies could be available to their own residents. This year th...

By B. McPherson This is the time of year when avid gardeners are pouring over seed catalogues planning for the summer’s bounty. Few people who are not gardeners and farmers are aware of the diminishing variety and number of seed houses. Regulations enacted by the US government now prevent seed suppliers from sending specialty seeds from Canada to the US, further restricting the supply of specialty and heritage seeds. Some gardeners are dealing with the dwindling varieties by saving seeds from open pollinated(plants that will breed true) varieties and activists have arranged for seed exchange days. There are small companies that offer heritage seeds over the internet. Some of the older seed houses in Canada still cater to the farmer who is planting fields, but the really big industrial farms are increasingly turning to the big seed producing corporations. These large seed manufacturing corporations have in a few decades come to dominate the commercial seed industry. Mo...

By B. McPherson Food security is on the minds of more and more people these days. Whether it is the desire to eliminate GMOs, pesticides and antibiotic resistant bacteria  in our food or simply to ensure that there will be sufficient, nutritious food available when we need it. I am gradually moving closer to that goal of food security. When I retired I started my kitchen garden. It’s quite a lot of work during growing season, but Nature is generous and most of the summer vegetables and some of the winter ones are grown there. The soil that I purchased was poor and gradually my husband and I are improving the nutrients and texture of it. Judicious applications of well rotted horse manure help the process along. The next step is establishing a secure source of meat. I am not choosing to go vegetarian but am very choosey about where my dead animals for the table come from. Chickens meet the criteria beautifully. They are small enough to be easily handled, good to look...

By B. McPherson The area of the Mediterranean Sea east to Iran usually receives the bulk of its rainfall in the wintertime. According to figures released by NOAA scientist, Martin Hoerling, the last 20 winters have had 10 extremely dry winters in that area.  This is not encouraging news for a region that already experiences water stress, because it implies natural variability alone is unlikely to return the region’s climate to normal.” NOAA News As the water temperature of the oceans increases due to planet warming, the atmosphere responds. When the Indian Ocean warms in response to planetary temperatures, it tends to push the weather systems north into central and northern Europe which then receive  more precipitation while the arid south receives less. The NOAA scientists use data from many sources to reach their conclusions. The natural climate fluctuations may or may not be affected by humanity’s burning of fossil fuels. Humans may not be causing the Earth’s climate to...